Police arrest two in MVR 92,000 Telegram fraud

Two young men have been arrested for allegedly conducting an unauthorized transaction and stealing MVR 92,000 from a victim’s bank account.

Police said Saturday that they received a complaint on Monday stating that the money was withdrawn after the victim clicked a link sent by someone he met in a Telegram group and then shared his OTP code.

Police said the owner of the receiving account and another person involved in the scam have been arrested.

The arrests were made on Tuesday under a court order for Mohamed Fazeel, 23, of Fine Park, HA. Hoarafushi, and Abshar Rasheed, 23, of Fine Beach, GDh. Fiyoari, police said.

Both suspects were produced before court and remanded for 15 days.

According to the court order, Fazeel has a prior criminal record.

Police said they are investigating the case.

Authorities have urged the public to avoid clicking unknown links, never share OTP codes, verify the authenticity of online transactions, and refrain from sharing personal information or card details with others to protect themselves from scams.